STUPID FENDER (52ri tele content)

i gave my month old 52 ri tele to the local tech to get setup with 11's (instead of the stock 10's).

in order to adjust the neck, you need to take the neck off, because the truss is only open in the neck pocket.

unfortunately for me, and some other higher end fenders (according to the frustrated tech), Fender put the neck on while the lacquer was drying, and essentially glued the neck to the body.

when he moved the neck, the lacquer cracked off about a 3/4in (diameter) piece at the neck joint, but on the body...very visible. about the size of a tear drop pick. hes trying to glue it back on, and will then buff it out.

the tech was torn up about this. he said that it is the 12th-ish time it has happened to him. the other tech at the store will no longer repair these styled fenders, because it has become such an issue.

he is going to call fender on my behalf, but he's not sure what they are going to do. luckily he works at a top grossing fender dealer, so he may be bale to get someone's attention.

There's actually an opening between a Tele's neck cavity and neck pickup rout that lets you access the truss rod without taking the neck off.
All he had to do was to remove the pickguard and lower or remove the neck pickup. You can even adjust a Tele neck under full string tension.

I had this happen to one of my Strats before, but it had nothing to do with drying paint. Some neck joints are so tight, that if your not very careful in removing the neck you can flex the edge of the body joint (where the neck joins) and chip the paint. Been there and done that.

When I went to change the strings I decided to see what it would look like with the pickguard off, so after removing the screws I pulled it off, including a small area of laquer around the screw hole on top of the body!

Seems like the guitar marker is getting so heated-up that their assembling guitars before the paint is dry these days, don't it

If he was a tech experienced with working on teles he would have done one of two things.
1) Remove the pickguard, lower the neck pickup and access the neck adjustment there. ( I have an offset tool that works like a charm.)

2) Take a utility knife and carefully run it around the neck pocket breaking any seal to the lacquer at those points.

There's actually an opening between a Tele's neck cavity and neck pickup rout that lets you access the truss rod without taking the neck off.
All he had to do was to remove the pickguard and lower or remove the neck pickup. You can even adjust a Tele neck under full string tension.

He might be the tech at the highest grossing Fender shop in the area, but he doesn't know **** about guitar repair. I'd insist that the guitar shop make me whole for the damage done by their incompetent tech. Print this page and bring it with you.